Nazi tactics, torture and sexual violence: 13 key points from the harsh UN report on the Maduro dictatorship

The Mission of The United Nations to Venezuela concluded that the justice of the dictatorship of Nicolas maduro he facilitated the persecution and torture of opponents and was a key factor in covering up these crimes. The document presented to UN Human Rights Council also underlines that “the state has failed to adopt concrete measures to address human rights violations”. On the contrary, the “has played an important role in suppressing opponents of the government rather than protecting victims of human rights violations and crimes”. The grueling 212-page document speaks volumes. In the word “torture“Is counted 214 times, while the terms”sexual violence”, 34 opportunities.

The Mission’s investigation revealed the systematic use of the repressive apparatus led by the military state of Mature on these dissenting voices and the complicity of the judicial structure, despite what his Attorney General exposed until a few weeks ago, Tarek William Saab in an interview with Infobae. “The actions and omissions of judges and judges dealt with complaints of torture had devastating consequences for the victims, including the continuation of torture and the deterioration of their health.», Notes the survey of the HIM HIM. Among the ten most salient points of the severe report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, we can underline:

1 – The regime’s judges have changed the dates of the court files in order to cover the police, paramilitary or intelligence forces which participated in operations against opponents and subjected their victims to torture. The document says: “The examination of the files by the Mission revealed discrepancies in dates which seem to mask the absence of arrest warrants at the time of his execution, as well as the non-presentation of the detainee before a judge within the legal deadlines. In some cases, official dates of detention appear to cover periods in which individuals claim to have suffered short-lived enforced disappearances during which they have been held incommunicado and subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. , including sexual violence.”.

2 – The magistrates did not follow up on formal complaints of enforced disappearances or acts of torture. “In some of the cases examined, these irregularities were brought to the attention of judges and supervisory judges, without receiving a response. This includes the case of Franklin Caldera, who testified before the Fourth Terrorism Control Court in his first appearance that February 11, 2021 was kidnapped in Colombia allegedly by members of the DGCIM and then interrogated and tortured for approximately 12 days, during which he did not officially provide any information about his fate”. And adds: “The cases examined by the Mission reveal that after learning of arbitrary detentions, courts have failed to systematically review or deal with irregular arrests and detentions, including cases of short-term enforced disappearance, even after petitions have been filed. ‘habeas corpus.”.

3 – A maneuver used by the Nazis, the collective punishment, against a participant in “Operation Gideon” and reprisals against his family. “In some documented cases, security or intelligence officers are said to have used criminal tactics, including kidnapping or arresting family members of opponents real or perceived, to make arrests. An accused of participating in Operation Gideon told the reviewing court during his preliminary hearing that DGCIM agents tortured him and told him they would apply “Sippenhaft” (a collective punishment tactic used by the Nazis). Her two sisters and her brother-in-law were then arrested and detained in La Boleíta for 32 days.”.

4 – The regime’s judges and prosecutors have not investigated cases of sexual violence against detainees either. Even after reports of torture, unlawful detainees were forced to remain in the custody of their torturers in clandestine centers. “In 113 of the 183 detention cases examined by the Mission, the detainees or their representatives denounced the commission of torture, sexual violence and / or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. These complaints were also raised by family members and legal representatives in briefs filed with the supervisory courts, the prosecution service and the ombudsperson’s office. In 67 of the 183 cases, detainees appeared in court with clear signs of ill-treatment”. To which he added: “In some cases, the records of the hearings it does not appear that the judicial authorities responded to these complaints. In others, judges and oversight judges have responded by ordering the prosecution to verify complaints of torture submitted or to conduct medical examinations. However, the same court files also reveal that they simultaneously ordered the defendants to remain in preventive detention, in the custody of the alleged torturers, namely the DGCIM and the SEBIN.”.

5 – “A detainee declared directly before the supervising judge that after his decision to hand him over to the custody of the DGCIM “I was subjected to about three months of continuous torture, beating at 12:00 p.m., 6:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m.”. Another detainee suffered an abortion after the introductory hearing as a result of the inflicted torture. Despite having received complaints of torture, the head of the Control Court handed her over to DGCIM custody.”.

6 – The United Nations Mission document also detailed how some of the political prisoners failed to file the relevant complaints because they did not have sufficient confidence in the judiciary of Mature and Saab. “Several victims, witnesses, lawyers and prosecutors told the Mission that other defendants did not report torture to judicial authorities, either out of fear or lack of confidence in the judicial response. This was especially omitted during the introductory hearings, when torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including sexual violence, had recently taken place.”.

7 – Confessions and declarations under torture taken as valid by the judicial authority. “The Mission identified cases in which confessions, incriminating statements or other suspected information, including passwords for phones and social media, were obtained under duress. or during questioning without legal representation. (…) The Mission documented cases in which the judiciary failed to fulfill its duty to avoid arrests on the basis of information illegally obtained from third parties.”.

8 – “Of the 183 detentions of opposition figures or persons perceived as such that took place between 2014 and 2021 documented by the Mission, 82 persons allegedly subjected to torture continued to be charged with crimes by the prosecution. and judicial authorities. A review of their court records reveals that after the unlawful interrogations, prosecutors, judges and women continued to authorize DGCIM and SEBIN to conduct criminal investigations that were based on evidence obtained by these intelligence agencies, including including those derived from evidence of statements improperly obtained.”.

9 – “The Mission was able to examine the procedural delays in 144 of the 183 detentions examined73 and found significant differences between the time limits authorized by law and in practice. 77% of the presentation hearings reviewed by the Mission took place after the 48-hour period allowed by law, and 18% of detainees were detained for more than a week before the introductory hearings. Detainees were often held incommunicado and unsupervised during this period and were exposed to torture, sexual violence and other cruel treatment., inhuman or degrading”.

10 – Judges and prosecutors have given intelligence agents carte blanche. To do this, he allowed the concept of preventive detention to be abused to arbitrarily dispose of the freedom of the persecuted. In addition, they ignored the evidence of torture, even when the victims appeared before them. “The issuance of preventive detention orders has been used routinely and not as an exceptional measure, without providing sufficient or adequate justification. Occasionally, the arrest was ordered at the SEBIN or DGCIM premises despite the risk of committing acts of torture, and even when the detainees showed signs compatible with torture in the courtroom”.

11 – “The mission has reasonable grounds to believe that Judges, judges and prosecutors played key roles in arbitrary arrests. They based arrest warrants, preventive detentions and charges on facts and evidence which did not imply criminal acts or on the basis of which the individual’s participation could not be individualized. In some cases, arrests and charges were supported by evidence forged, fabricated or obtained through torture or coercion.”.

12 – The United Nations investigators further concluded that “Justice actors also deprived detainees of their right to legal representation”. “In fgeneral, the state has failed to adopt tangible, concrete and progressive measures to address human rights violations, fight impunity and redress victims through national investigations and prosecutions. Official information is scarce, but all available evidence suggests that the number of national prosecutions for crimes related to human rights violations is low and limited to lower-ranking participants.”.

13 – Finally, the UN holds prosecutors and judges largely responsible for not having prevented the torture and abuse of victims and for having been part of the same repressive device. “The Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that the judicial system played an important role in state repression. opponents of the government instead of protecting victims of human rights violations and crimes. The effects of the deterioration of the rule of law extend beyond those directly concerned, they affect the whole of society.”.

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